Ribbon
by Da-Eh
Summary: Just like that Naruto kid, why was this boy treated so harshly? Why had she never noticed him before? Why did he try so hard when he couldn't use Ninjutsu? LeeSaku. Oneshot. Fluff


**A/N: This is my first fanfic!**

**I'm Da-Eh, & it's nice to meet you all!  
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this story!  
****For a first little fanfic, I've decided to make it a short lil' oneshot.**

**It's a cute little LeexSaku fluff piece.  
****I'm sorry if it's a little out of character. xD**

**Please rate & review if you have the time!  
I love reviews!**

**Summary: Just like that Naruto kid, why was this boy treated so harshly? Why had she never noticed him before? Why did he try so hard when he couldn't even use Ninjutsu? LeeSaku. One-shot. Fluff.**

Tiny little guide:

"**Bold"** Inner Sakura

"_Italics"_ Thoughts

"**_Bold Italic"_** Speech in flashbacks

_Italic_ Flashback

Err . . . the "Bold Italic" might sound confusing… but you'll see what I mean when you get to it. xD  
Okies

On to the story!

* * *

"Uhn... Sasuke-kun, wait!" Called the young rose-haired girl, waving her hand slightly as she chased the raven-haired figure ahead of her. He seemed not to hear her, and only continued walking, his hands stuffed in his pockets as usual, "Sasu--" The girl let out a small cry as she fell to the ground, scraping up her arms and knees. 

Pale emerald eyes glanced behind her, noting the tree root that had caused her to fall.  
Sakura Haruno bit her lip slightly, but quickly turned her attention back to the boy she pined for. Sasuke Uchiha.  
Why was he still walking away? Why wouldn't he even turn around to see if she was okay? Why was he always like this? Bitter tears found her. The young girl was so confused, she never understood him. This raven-haired heart throb.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck on the exams tomorrow..." She whispered softly, forcing herself to stand up. She wasn't injured badly, just a few cuts and bruises. The only notable blood was slowly trickling down her leg.

Her injuries weren't bad at all, so why did she have to try so hard not to cry?

Slowly, she limped away from the school, not sure where her legs were taking her. Soon, the school grounds were only a memory, and Sakura found herself in some sort of forest. She figured she had wandered out a little too far, but the scenery was calming.  
Her frail body leaned against a tree behind her, her thoughts trailing back to class earlier that afternoon.

* * *

"_**Naruto! Stop fooling around! Your final exams are tomorrow!"** Iruka-Sensei had angrily scolded Naruto Uzumaki, who was once again, fooling around._

_The class giggled slightly, and Naruto sat down, embarrassed._

"_**Now then,"** Iruka-Sensei continued, **"Your exam tomorrow will contain all of the lessons I have taught you this year. Practice tonight, but don't use too much chakra. You'll need it tomorrow."**_

_The class grew grim, the final exams... the one thing that could decide their fates._

_There was a powerful force in the room, no words were spoken, but it was obvious what was burning in every student's hearts, **"I **_**must_ become a ninja!"

* * *

_**

"Hugh!"

Sakura blinked, a voice bringing her back to reality. She limped a little further, and noticed a small clearing, and a boy standing in the middle of it, panting heavily. He looked familiar; she figured he must be in her class.  
His leg seemed injured, her emerald eyes traveled from him to the tree he had been training with. Her eyes widened in shock, such deep marks in the bark...

_"No wonder his leg is injured!"_ Sakura thought to herself, her eyes still wide.  
**"He must be crazy, hell yeah!"** A second thought surged through her; 'Inner Sakura' was her name.  
_"Eh... maybe, but he's still injured..."  
_**"Hell no! You have to study! You have to be on the same team as Sasuke-kun!"** Inner Sakura jeered again

Sakura shook her thoughts away, sighing heavily; she really had to stop having conversations with herself. One might think she was crazy...

Apparently she had been standing there too long, for the boy had noticed her by now. She met his stare, and they both stood silently, neither sure what to say.  
"Uhn..." Sakura fumbled for words, she was embarrassed, what was she supposed to say? She decided to go with the first thought that popped into her head.  
"Your leg...it's injured..." She mumbled, stating the obvious. If it had been Sasuke she was talking to, he would have just smirked, and called her immature or something. Her heart panged at the thought. But once more, this boy brought her back out from her thoughts.

"I promised myself I would hit this tree 100 times with both legs. If I could not do that, than I would run 100 laps around Konoha." Was his soft reply, his dark eyes burning with determination. Sakura blinked, tilting her head slightly, this seemed silly to her, but she figured he must have a reason, "Why?" She questioned him, this boy was strange.  
"...Because..." The boy began, clenching his fists, and looking away from her, "I...I cannot do any Ninjutsu techniques..."

The rose-haired girl gaped, looking at this strange boy. He couldn't use Ninjutsu...? But wasn't he in her class...?

**"I told you he was crazy!" **Inner Sakura yelled to her subconscious.  
The boy must have noticed her expression, for he smiled grimly, brushing some of his long, dark hair from his eyes, "...But I will become a Ninja tomorrow."

His voice... he was so determined... so sure of himself. It seemed amazing to her... she looked back to him, trying to remember this boy.

Why hadn't she noticed him before?

His long black hair was tied back in a braid, though some strands hung in front of his eyes. The most intriguing thing about this boy had to be his eyes. They were large and wide... and she also noted the eyelashes at the bottom. It was... cute, she thought, inwardly giggling. He wore a light green Chinese-like training shirt, black kung-fu pants, and black kung-fu flat shoes.

_"Ah..."  
_She remembered him now...

* * *

"**_Haha! You can't even do... a _simple_ Ninjutsu technique?!"_**_ A boy called loudly, through a fit of laughter._

_Sakura briefly turned her attention away from Sasuke, and looked towards the commotion behind her._

"_**...Oh man! I can't believe they even let you in! H- how..." **The boy had to regain himself once more, as his laughter had gotten out of control, **"-How... can you truly... believe that you'll... be a ninja...?"  
**__She noticed a boy with long black hair, whom she figured was the boy who couldn't do ninjutsu._

"_**I cannot. But I will..."** Sakura blinked, the black-haired boy was speaking, **"I will become a Hidden-Leaf Ninja!"  
**__What was this? Just like that Naruto-kid, why was this boy treated so harshly? Why was he so determined...?_

* * *

"Haruno-san." 

Sakura blinked, looking back to the boy, "Ah... Sorry... uhm..." She began, not sure what to call him.  
She heard him laugh softly, "Rock Lee, Haruno-san." He told her gently, and from his voice, she knew he wasn't mad.  
"Lee-San...uhm..." She wanted to do something... to help him. She was silent, thinking over her options...

One stuck out, and she took a deep breath, not sure if she wanted to part with such a special item. A finger tugged at the top of her red hair band, gently pulling it out from her hair.

"Lee-san... let's both do our best." She handed him her special ribbon, her ribbon that had brought her hope long ago, smiling one of her warm smiles, "I know you will pass."

And with that, her frail body vanished from sight, giving him a small wave as she left.  
"_I pray that it will bring you hope, and happiness, Rock Lee."_

Rock Lee glanced down at the ribbon in his hand, "Haruno Sakura-san..." He breathed out softly, gently running his fingers across the ribbon's soft fabric.  
"I know you will pass as well, Sakura-san..."

* * *

"Hn... hey, Lee-San?"  
Large, dark eyes glanced up to his brown-haired teammate, "What is it, TenTen-San?" He questioned softly, smiling. 

"Why do you wear your headband on that old, red ribbon?" She questioned, twirling a kunai lazily in her fingers. She knew Lee had bad fashion sense, but orange or blue would have been a better color. Even Lee should know that…

It was a mild, sunny day, and Gai-Sensi had given them a small break from training.  
Lee smiled softly, trying his best to hide his blush that crept onto his face, "Before I became a ninja... a very special person gave this ribbon to me..."

TenTen blinked, confused at his answer, "Lee-San that doesn't make any sense!" She sighed, leaning back against the tree she was positioned by. Lee laughed softly, as the image of his wonderful Sakura-san popped into his head.

"Someone _very_ special..." And he went back to training, leaving a very confused TenTen to ponder his odd answer.

* * *

**A/N: Eee! xD **

**Thank you for reading! **

**I know, I know, Sakura had her head-band when she graduated… but still.**

**I guess this is a "what-if" sort of thing.**

**-Shrugs- just a cute little LeeSaku fluff. xP**

**Sorry if it sucked xD**

**But I really hope you enjoyed it!**


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